The pain of the international break is almost at an end…

So, we have finally reached the final day of the international break, a break which has been particularly unkind to us. So far we’ve lost Van Persie, Diaby and Bendtner to injury. Let’s hope that these injuries aren’t serious and more importantly let’s hope that no more are picked up in the games tonight. So, I suppose it’ll be a nerve-wracking 24hrs waiting to hear did the rest of our players get through their games unscathed and also waiting to get some fresh reports on the status of the currently injured players.

Goonerholic today has what can only be an April Fool’s posting, though given the idiotic nature of Platini it wouldn’t actually be at all surprising were it true. If today wasn’t April 1st you’d be more than willing to believe it, which is a scary thought. For a man that was a respected and admired footballer, he really is a fool right up there with Septic Bladder. How these two men have managed to get the two most powerful jobs in world football is beyond me.

Elsewhere, Ivan Gazidis says that he is confident that we will keep all of our players and you would have to hope that he is right. The worst thing about the international break is the unrelenting speculation, in the Spanish media especially, about our players and which will be bought by what club. To say it’s an irritation would be a bit of an understatement. I suppose we will just have to live with it and view it as a sign that we have a squad of top class players that are progressing in the right direction. With no possible movement on the transfer front until the summer, Gazidis has plenty of time on his hands to get the contracts of the players sorted and put an end to any speculation.

As said by Arseblogger, it’s good to see that Van Persie isn’t just after a big pay packet and that it is future progression and success that he is after. That’s a great thing to hear coming from a footballer and is a world apart from what was coming out of the Adebayor camp last summer when he was, allegedly, more worried about preparing for his retirement. But, with Robin’s injury record, you would imagine that he also owes it to the club to sign a new contract too. He owes us a few fully fit seasons before he should even think about moving on.

Alex Fynn talks about the whole Kroenke, Fiszman, Bracewell-Smith situation and makes some decent points, the most appropriate of which being that we should be more worried about the battle for 4th place and the extra income that comes with it rather than any perceived boardroom unrest. It really shouldn’t be underestimated how important the Champions League revenue is to the club, regardless of what the board say about being able to absorb a season out of the competition. The fact is that it’s vital in order for the club in order to be able to progress and, more importantly, keep it’s big players. To miss out on qualification while player contract negotiations are ongoing would put the club in a much weaker position and increase the chances of someone jumping ship.

That’s about it for today as I’m feeling a bit under the weather and, unfortunately, it isn’t alcohol induced. Damned sinuses! Fingers crossed that our players can come through tonight’s games unscathed and ready to give City a good seeing to (in a footballing sense) on Saturday.